HCA: Hermit Crab Association

ok so i found trisha dead yknow she smelled bad he limbs fell out (only her limbs) im just worries is it there water? i mean everyone has been kinda in active lately and no one is burrying themselve's I cant really afford to buy an iso tank so idk what to do. the dechloirnator i got is reptisafe and got 600ml i put 16 drops in (i did the conversion) anyone have ANY suggestions?

Hello there,

I'm sorry for what you are going through. Only Trisha's limbs fell out? no abdomen, or anything else? Is it at all possible that she molted, and that was just her exoskeleton that fell out? The crabs do have a scent to them, when they molt especially if it was a surface molt.

If you haven't yet filled out a the help request template, it may be helpful to see if anything might be a little off, and may be the reason for the inactivity. Perhaps the humidity is a little low? It should be at 80%. If it is much lower, hermit crabs slowly suffocate.

Here are the main questions from the template:
1. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?

2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?

3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?

5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?

6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?

7. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?

8. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?

9. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?

10. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?

11. How often do you clean the tank and how?

12. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?

. What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
coconut fiber
2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?
yes zoomed gauge temp usually at 70 and humidity usually between 60-80
3. Is a heat source used in the tank? If so, what?

4. What types of water are available (fresh or salt) and how is the water treated (what brands of dechlorinator or salt mix and what ratio is used to mix it)?
fresh and salt treated with repitisafe (again from zoomed) and i use instant ocean
5. What kinds of food do you feed and how often is it replaced?
the title of the food is literally "herit crab food" made by pisces
6. How long have you had the crab and what species is it, if known?
a year or so and its a pp
7. What type of housing are the crabs kept in, what size is it and what kind of lid is on the housing?
its in a terrarium and chicken wire or eat resistent wire idk
8. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
4 now and all medium except larry hes small
9. How many extra shells are usually kept in the tank, if any?
prob around 8
10. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
i wiped it down but i used so little
11. How often do you clean the tank and how?
once every six months
12. Are sponges used in the water dish? If so, how are they cleaned?
no

mrsghosty wrote:What kind of substrate is used in your tank and how deep is it?
coconut fiber

You might want to consider mixing sand into the coconut fiber, as coconut fiber by itself does not really hold its shape, so it is hard for the crabs to make tunnels and have them not collapse on them.

mrsghosty wrote:2. Do you have gauges in the tank to measure temperature and humidity? If so, where are they located and what temperature and humidity do they usually read?
yes zoomed gauge temp usually at 70 and humidity usually between 60-80

Temperature could be okay at 70 for PP’s but it is usually safer to be in the 75-80 range.
It is extremely important for humidity to be as close to 80% as possible. 60% humidity or lower could kill your crabs by slow suffocation. I think even much less than 80% results in suffocation.

To increase humidity there are a number of things that you could do. You can put a moss pit in your tank and keep it moist. You can seal most of (maybe about 80-90%*) of your lid with saran wrap, if it is more of a screen lid.
*You would have to play around with how much of it is covered to see when the humidity gets to be around 80%.

Also, if you do not have a heat mat or a heat lamp, it might help matters to invest in one.

As far as the food you are feeding them goes, if you are feeding them this: http://www.amazon.com/HBH-Hermit-Crab-V ... B00LETEJAS
Please stop feeding it to them; it is full of harmful things. Ethoxyquin, Choline Chloride (Chlorine derived), and the food coloring Red 40 and Yellow 5, to name a few. Also, it is best to stay away from onions and garlic, as they are known to be harmful in other small animals like dogs, and if they are harmful to them, they are likely harmful to our, much smaller, crabs.
From the pet store, you can purchase things like freeze-dried shrimp, krill, blood worms, crickets, meal worms, etc. for protein (which they should always have available to them), and you can get fish, other meats, organic fruits, vegetables, grains etc. from the stores and prepare them for them yourself. There are also places you can get homemade hermit crab food from online, if it makes life easier for you. But I would definitely stay away from the food you are feeding currently.

mrsghosty wrote:8. How many crabs are in the tank and about how large are they?
4 now and all medium except larry hes small

Do you have the dimensions of the terrarium? Each crab needs to have enough room, and the substrate should be deep enough for them to have plenty of molting room. Since your largest crab is a medium-sized crab, your coconut fiber should be no less than 8” deep.

mrsghosty wrote:10. Have there been any fumes or chemicals near the crabitat recently?
i wiped it down but i used so little

What kinds of chemicals did you use? Even a little amount can be harmful if they are exposed to it.

I just want you to know that I am here to help, I am not trying to attack you, and your conditions aren’t terrible, there are just some things that would improve the living conditions for your crabs; they might even become much more active.

the terrariums deminsions are 1.5,1.5,1.5 again very estimated dimensions i only have a ruler not a tape measure definatly might be a bit bigger not smaller though i think

mrsghosty wrote:the terrariums deminsions are 1.5,1.5,1.5 again very estimated dimensions i only have a ruler not a tape measure definatly might be a bit bigger not smaller though i think

If the unit of measurement of 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 is in rulers, approx. 18 x 18 x 18, that makes the tank about 25.25 gallons; which should be plenty of room for the four of them. All four of them together would need roughly 14.5 gallons (4 gallons per Medium crab, 2.5 gallons per small crab).